Dipper Day

Dipper woke up to find a tray with a rather well-made breakfast on it on his nightstand.

"Uh, thanks." he said, to nobody in particular as he looked around his bedroom. He wasn't quite sure who could have placed the breakfast, but he shrugged and prepared to start eating. That's when he noticed that there was a chair that he didn't remember being in his bedroom last night.

The chair then dissolved into a swarm of skittering bugs. The swarm made its way to Dipper's bedside before shifting into the form of Mabel.

"You're welcome!" said Mabel, in a chipper voice.

"What's the occasion, if I might ask?" asked Dipper.

Mabel looked down guiltily and said "Well, I've just been thinking about the... the really bad thing that happened last summer. And how you had to... had to survive for three whole days all alone during it."

Dipper shuddered slightly at the unpleasant memories.

Mabel continued, sounding shakier and guiltier with each word. "A-and how I was in that bubble getting everything I wanted and I didn't even think about how you were probably hurt, and tired, and scared, and worried about me, and I don't know where you could've found food or water so you were probably hungry and thirsty, and you were being chased by monsters who wanted to eat you, and you could've di-"

"Mabel." said Dipper, with a hint of sternness.

This seemed to snap Mabel out of it, and her smile slowly returned. "Well, anyway, this is probably way overdue, but I think I should make it up to you. Since I got everything I wanted for three days while you... had a hard time, let's call it, this time I'll do everything you want for four days."

"Mabel, you don't have to do this." said Dipper.

"But I should. It's part of Mabel's quest to be a less awful sister!" said Mabel triumphantly.

Dipper sighed. "You're not an awf-"

"So, do you like the breakfast in bed?" asked Mabel, gesturing to the breakfast on Dipper's nightstand.

Dipper took a bite of it. "Pretty good. Did you make it yourself?"

"Yep! Being made of bugs actually made making it kinda easier." said Mabel.

"No glitter, or sprinkles or anything, huh?" asked Dipper.

"Well, it was tempting, but I decided that you'd probably prefer it without." said Mabel.

Dipper shrugged. "Yeah, it does make it easier to eat."

"So, now that Dipper Day 1 has officially begun, what do you want to do first?" asked Mabel.

"I'm not quite sure." said Dipper, beginning to get out of bed. "How about a walk in the woods?"

"Sure thing!" said Mabel, beaming with a braced smile.

That morning, the twins went through a walk in the local forest. Sure, it wasn't as interesting as a walk in the forests of Gravity Falls, but it was fairly calming and relaxing, for the most part at least. Mabel had insisted that she walk in front of him, so that any danger they come across would go after her first. Her point was proven when she accidentally stepped right into an old bear trap.

The bear trap was too old and worn to clamp fully shut, and Mabel was quick to assure him that it wasn't nearly as bad as it would be if she were still completely human, but it did evidently hurt. After shapeshifting herself free, during which Dipper noticed that the bugs she was composed of also seemed slightly injured, Mabel insisted they continue their walk.

At another point during their walk, they came across a hive of rather aggressive hornets. Mabel asked Dipper to stand back as she turned back into bugs, reasoning that since both she and the wasps were hiveminds, they would be able to communicate and thus work out an agreement.

She was incorrect.

As she rubbed the painful new bumps all over her body, she admitted that she probably should've just turned into wasps instead.

They also encountered a family of frogs which all tried to shoot their tongues at Mabel, apparently sensing that she was made of bugs.

The walk was overall enjoyable, though Dipper was worried for Mabel's safety by the end of it. After that, she spent the rest of the day doing anything and everything Dipper wanted to do. She insisted on doing all the hard work involved with these things, from carrying things to climbing to making trips across the neighborhood, even when Dipper offered to help. And whenever something potentially painful or otherwise unpleasant was about to happen to him, she always made sure she would take the brunt of it in his stead, insisting she was fine right afterwards.

She used her shapeshifting abilities quite a bit during all this, and Dipper had noticed that whenever she got injured in a form she was taking, the bugs she was composed of would also be injured when she changed back to them. Furthermore, anything she changed into would also be injured in someway, like the ladder she turned into, which was rickety and had a rung missing. Dipper was concerned for his sister's well-being, but she seemed to be happy, and he had to admit he was enjoying having her do all these things for him.

At the end of the day, Dipper went to bed, and as he lied down, a swarm of insects, some bruised, some with twisted legs, and some with wasp stings, tucked him into bed. Soon, the swarm turned back into Mabel, who was herself rather bruised and covered in wasp stings. Still, she gave a bright smile, showing off her slightly dented braces.

"How was Dipper Day 1?" she asked.

"Well, it was pretty good, thanks. You don't have to do three more, but if you really want to, I guess you can go ahead." said Dipper.

"I sure will." said Mabel, giving off what appeared to be a wink, but it was a bit hard to tell when one eye was a swollen black eye and the other had a wasp sting right on the eyelid. "Four days is the least I could do to show you I care about you."

With that, she dissolved back into a swarm of bugs, with skittered out of the bedroom.